The present invention relates to sealing pressurized bottles and in particular to retaining carbonation in carbonated beverage bottles after opening.
Carbonated beverages are enjoyed with meals, as a refreshment between meals, at sporting events, and at parties. Carbonated beverages are available in single small cans, for example, 12 ounce cans, 16 and 20 ounce bottles, and larger economy sized bottles. The large economy sized bottles are generally sold for a lower per ounce price than small container sizes.
The large economy sized bottles have a plastic rigid screw cap which seals to a screw-threaded neck. When the cap is unscrewed to pour the beverage, the pressurized carbon dioxide gas on top of the liquid is released into the atmosphere. The gas will continue to bubble off and escape as long as the cap is not sealing the bottle. When the cap is screwed back onto the neck of the bottle, and forms a seal, the gas will continue to bubble until equilibrium is established between the dissolved gas and the evolved gas over the liquid inside the bottle. As this process is repeated, the dissolved gas will gradually become depleted rendering the beverage “flat”. Beverage companies attempt to counter this tendency by putting excess carbonation in the bottles. In addition, some beverages seem to hold their carbonation better than others. Unfortunately, neither excess carbonization nor beverage selection has succeeded in substantially delaying the beverage going flat before consumption.
Many elaborate mechanisms have been proposed to overcome this problem. Such apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,232,046 for “Pressurized Dispenser for Beverage Bottle”. The apparatus of the '046 patent helps retain carbonation, but is overly complex and expensive. The '046 patent further includes a good review of the prior art, and is incorporated herein its entirety by reference.